Optically pumped magnetometers provide very high performance but they cost tens of thousands of dollars, and they are large and power hungry. Recently we successfully developed and commercialized laser pumped magnetometers with size, weight and power consumption that is an order of magnitude below current state-of-the-art without sacrificing performance. In this project, the focus will be on producing another step change by developing a device that also costs less by over an order of magnitude. The successful execution of this project will enable DoD to utilize sensitive magnetic anomaly detection technologies even on low cost and disposable platforms.
Benefit: Magnetic sensing technologies have a wide range of civilian and military applications. The cost reduction that will result from this project will enable wide scale adoption of this critical technology on new low-cost platforms.
Keywords: Rubidium, Rubidium, magnetic anomaly detection., Cesium, optically pumped magnetometer, Alkali vapor, Scalar
